I say … this does come as a surprise, what with Julia Hood, Haymarket EVP, helping to plan the [“Public Relations Defined” initiative] last September as then-president of the Arthur W. Page Society, and with Danny Rogers, PRWeek UK editor-in-chief, endorsing the initiative as an “appropriate” endeavour that “matters” because “finding a new definition of PR [will help the] tens of thousands employed within this well-established industry … to more clearly and consistently explain what they do — and the value they add.

Mere technicalities, one supposes, when page views are at stake.

Perhaps it’s worthwhile to hearken back one year ago, to when much of the discussion taking place in the blogosphere centered around the need — and, specifically, the need for PRSA — to modernize the definition of public relations. Had we ignored those discussions, I suspect today’s cheeky headline would have been, “When Will PRSA Get Off Its Arse?”

Damned if you do, I guess … as noted blogger Arik Hanson has rightly pointed out, we are a profession that loves to criticise our own.

Still, we’ll let the profession’s interest in this initiative speak to its worth.

Who could forget Tom Cruise’s notorious response to Today show host Matt Lauer, when Lauer asked Cruise whether nor not he had considered the possibility that the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug Ritalin — the use of which Cruise opposes — might actually work for some people.

Well, Lauer was again at his glib best Tuesday (Nov. 1) in an interview with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. The producers of Today invited Mr. Schultz on air to discuss the launch of a program through which Starbucks, with the Opportunity Finance Network® (OFN), is accepting donations for the Create Jobs for USA Fund in every U.S.-based, company-operated Starbucks.

According to the Starbucks news release, the program works like this: Donations to the Fund, which has been seeded with a $5 million contribution from the Starbucks Foundation, will help create and sustain jobs in underserved communities throughout the United States. The Fund, managed by OFN, will pool donations from Starbucks customers, employees and others. Donors who contribute $5 or more receive a red, white and blue wristband emblazoned with the message “Indivisible.”

First, Lauer (claiming to represent the “cynicism” bred by “tough times”), asked if this wasn’t just some evil scheme to sell more pumpkin-spice lattes. “The guy [Schultz] wants to do good, he wants to create jobs,” Lauer began. “But one of the other reasons behind this is because, if you don’t have a job, you can’t afford a $4 cup of coffee.”

Schultz, to his credit, didn’t take the bait. “I can assure you,” he replied, “this is nothing about marketing. This is our responsibility as a company, and recognizing that we as business leaders should not and cannot wait for Washington … businesses and business leaders have to do more.”

So, if it’s not about selling more coffee, Lauer reasoned, then it must be about generating positive press. “You say it’s not about PR,” Lauer moaned, “but it sounds a little like a PR campaign.”

Schultz again showed himself to be a skilled communicator with the keen ability to stay on message. “Not about PR,” he said, “It’s about Starbucks using its scale for good … about a problem in America and the fact that business and business leaders have to step up. We can’t wait for Washington. This is about leadership.”

That was the question posed by PRNewswer Editor Tonya Garcia in an article about what she called the “ongoing feud” between the J.R. O’Dwyer Company and PRSA.

To answer Ms. Garcia’s question, yes, I am tired of it. PRSA members also are tired of it, especially those who have been personally targeted by Publisher Jack O’Dwyer, but more on that later.

The latest shotgun blast in this “feud” stems from PRSA’s decision not to extend press credentials to Mr. O’Dwyer, which would have allowed him to “report” on our Leadership Assembly meeting and International Conference, which took place Oct. 15-18, in Orlando, Fla.

To be sure, this was an unprecedented step, and one we did not take lightly. We understood that we would face criticism from those who may not understand why an organization that represents public relations professionals would take an action that seems to fly in the face of established public relations tenets.

For this reason, we explained our position in a statement, in an extended conversation with Bill McCarren, executive director of the National Press Club, and in a 23-page letter sent to Mr. O’Dwyer, which outlined our concerns with his professional conduct. (The letter was at the link provided at the time of this writing.)

Editor’s Note: The following post originally ran in Ragan’s PRDaily. It has been re-posted here in full, with permission.

The fallout from the News of the Worldphone hacking scandal has been stunning. Equally shocking was the reprehensible actions some News of the World journalists took to scoop their competitors, including hacking into the mobile phone of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, who went missing in 2002 and was subsequently found dead.

While pundits and journalists continue to flesh out the aftermath of this escalating global scandal — yesterday The Guardianreported that reporters from The Sunday Times, News International’s venerable broadsheet, had attempted to hack the voicemail of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown while he was in office — the question for public relations professionals now turns to the long-term impact these transgressions will have on how we counsel clients in managing their reputations.

UPDATE: 5/24/10: Today, the PRSA family mourns the loss of Betsy Plank, APR, Fellow PRSA, who passed away on May 23, following a brief illness. She was 86.

According to her wishes, Betsy will be cremated and the internment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, University of Alabama, Box 870172, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0172 or on-line (designate Plank Fund).

At its July board meeting, The Plank Center will join with the Chicago public relations community to celebrate Betsy’s contributions to the profession. PRSA also will recognize Betsy at this year’s PRSA International Conference in Washington, D.C., Oct. 17-19.

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PRSAY is a forum for PRSA members and other public relations professionals to engage in a dialogue with PRSA leaders, exchange viewpoints, and share perspectives on issues of concern to the Society and the public relations industry as a whole. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of PRSA.